The Salt Path

by Raynor Winn

The uplifting true tale of the couple who lost everything and embarked on a journey of salvation across the windswept South West coastline. Now a Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller 'The landscape is magical: shape-shifting seas and smugglers' coves; myriads of sea birds and mauve skies. Raynor writes exquisitely . . . It's a tale of triumph: of hope over despair; of love over everything . . . home was no longer about bricks and mortar. It was a state of mind' The Sunday Times Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey. The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways. 'The Salt Path is a life-affirming tale of enduring love that smells of the sea and tastes of a rich life. With beautiful, immersive writing, it is a story heart-achingly and beautifully told.' Jackie Morris 'What an absolute glorious and moving book. It deserves all its praise!' Vybarr Cregan-Reid, author of Footnotes and Primate Change

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Book Club, Nature, Biography, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published March 22, 2018

About the author

After walking the South West Coast Path, Raynor Winn became a long distance walker and now writes about nature, homelessness and wild camping. She lives in Cornwall.

Follow Raynor on Twitter @raynor_winn

Reviews

[El · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The story has the potential to be a life-affirming, heart-warming work and I love walking but I just couldn't get on with the style which, for me, was flat and monotonous and the tale itself was repetitive and overlong in many areas. I felt it needed harsher editing to pare what is a fascinating story down to its core but there was so much repetition that I lost interest. It did pick up a little towards the end but by then I was just waiting for the book to end. I realise I'm in a tiny minority here so please read it for yourself to make up your own mind.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe that I'm in the minority here on my opinion of this book, and I've read many glowing reviews, so get ready for my personal, and probably rather unpopular opinion. This book had first caught my eye here on Goodreads, and as I'm a huge lover of the coast, I assumed that I'd see eye to eye with the story, and all it had to offer.

Well, I was wrong, and for the majority of this read I felt bored, and actually extremely unmoved. I mean, this is about a couple that have lost their home, the husband is dying, and they are hiking around England's coastline looking for themselves again, so one would expect to feel a tug on the old heartstrings, right?

Wrong. I felt only the heave of my body as I exhaled a sigh after reading yet another line about the couple being "brave" and eating yet another bland bit of "rice".

Winn tries to lay the sympathy on thick for this couple, which is not only exasperating, but it is tedious. Tedious for the reader that wants to make their own journey with these characters and work it out for themselves. Winn constantly puts down homeless people that drink or take drugs, and then puts her character's into a separate category like they are too good to liaise with addicts. It was irritating.

Our main characters were unrealistic and failed to be fleshed out. We hear nothing about the children of these character's who surely, SURELY would have been concerned about their parents hitting the road with just bags of fudge to eat. Which brings me to another issue I had. The constant meeting of pointless characters along their journey. Strange conversations take place in which people are actually very rude and refer to them as "old" and this contributes absolutely nothing to the text. I'm not sure where Winn has been, but most people are not rude, especially in the way she describes.

The actual writing itself is repetitive. Winn felt the need to repeat situations to not only the reader, but to every person along the coastline. She made it impossible for me to connect with. It was boring, half-baked and full of prejudice, so I'm terribly happy it's over. Just the thought of reading the next book in the series makes me cringe.

Readers?

It is never going to happen.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different spin on those we think of as homeless, because these two people did everything right, and lost everything. Added to this they find out Moth, Raynors husband has a degenerative disease. How much can two people handle? With very little money, with no where to go except sleeping on friends couches for the foreseeable future, they decide to walk. Taking only the necessities, they decide to walk the South West coastal path, 630 miles.

So this then is their story of this trip, and the things they see and experience. The descriptions and the prose is impressive, vivid. Their descriptions of the physical pain they experience is anguishing. They take up past St. Isaac where my favorite show Doc Martin is made and through Cornwall and it's copper mines, where Poldark is filmed. They have a few run ins with wild life, and meet some quirky characters. They are called old, in their fifties, by many who can't believe they are walking so far. They wild camp, not having the money for campgrounds.

They find out they are stronger than they thought, braver than expected, and feel proud of their accomplishment. The story starts out in darkness, but ends in light, as ........well read the book and find out. Don't think you'll be disappointed.

ARC from Netgalley.

[Liina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This will be an unpopular opinion amongst the five-star reviews - I found the book extremely tedious and at points downright irritating. It was not emotionally engaging at all for me. Although it has all the elements why it should and could be: a middle age couple loses they're home and everything they have ever worked for and on top of that, the husband is diagnosed with a terminal illness. So they decide to walk for 630 miles on a coastal path. Somehow Raynor Wind managed to describe all this but leave me completely unmoved. Walking definitely has redemptive and healing powers, especially walking in such a beautiful natural setting as UK south-west coast is. But the description of their journey was repetitive, accompanied by the constant emphasising how brave they were and how god forbid, they were not like "the regular homeless people" and also almost always critical observations about other people. Also, it left me completely bewildered that in many instances she mentioned how she hadn't been in contact with her children for long periods of time. Which to me was just unbelievable - considering the father of the children was actually very ill - not to take the utmost care of charging your phone so the kids would at least know about the whereabouts. Overall, writing 300 pages about your suffering and discomfort is fine, but please don't if you don't have the writing talent to be at least a bit Tara Westover'ish while at it.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finding out that Ray's husband Moth is terminally ill, they lose their home and livelihood! So they decide to walk the Coast Path, and just carrying on walking and see if they can complete it all! Can fresh air, beautiful landscapes and being in touch with history and nature help the couple? An enchanting multi-arc memoir, a guide to the Coast Path, an analysis of modern homelessness, and a voyage of discovery by a couple who have nothing to hang on to. A quality Four Star read.

2019 read

[*TUDOR^QUEEN* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Penguin Books who provided an advance reader copy via Edelweiss.

This is an inspiring memoir written by Raynor Winn, wife of Moth Winn and mother of their adult children Rowan and Thomas. This utterly devoted married couple find themselves homeless at the age of fifty. They've spent their married lives restoring a farmhouse in the English countryside stone by stone, which they also parlayed into a family business. They have farm animals, a vegetable garden, and the ability to share their lives as well as pay their bills. When they made a failed investment at the advice of an old friend, a court case ensued against the Winns. At the last minute they procured a document to prove that they were not liable in the court case; however, the judge refused to accept it into evidence because it wasn't submitted in a timely fashion. Not only did they lose the court case, but everything they had built together their whole marriage. They would be homeless in five days. As if this tragedy wasn't enough, Moth's persistent shoulder and arm pain was just diagnosed as CBD, or corticobasal degeneration- a degenerative brain disease. If the diagnosis was sound (there is no actual test for it), in several years Moth could fall into dementia and die by choking on his own saliva. Moth was the first one to ever say the words "I love you" to Raynor, and she loved this beautiful man since they were teenagers.

Raynor remembered reading a book called "Five Hundred Mile Walkies" decades ago which involved walking the entire coastline from Minehead in Somerset, North Devon, Cornwall, South Devon, to Poole in Dorset...otherwise known as the "South West Coast Path". This would involve walking approximately 630 miles over rivers, moorland, hills, rocks and beaches...and wild camping! So, they stored some treasured furniture, purchased a used tent on eBay, bought two large rucksacks and put one foot in front of the other. Their only financial sustenance was forty-eight pounds weekly, which would be deposited in their bank (a government tax credit due to Moth's recent inability to work) and they could withdraw from cash machines.

I love human interest stories about people who triumph over adversity (or at least try). Being resourceful, finding strength you didn't know you had, living life instead of just giving up...this book was all those things. The arduous journey had a miraculous curative effect on Moth. He was advised to rest by his doctor, but the one time they lived in a small cottage (in exchange for refurbishing it) Moth's body was racked with pain. A master wall plasterer by trade, he could only work about four hours a day while in extreme pain. However, once they resumed hiking Moth regained his strength and agility.

They had to make little money stretch by eating noodles, tuna, rice- and when desperate- fudge bars. Every morning, they would heat up their own tea on a tiny gas stove. They would longingly watch other people eat large meals with dessert like they were watching a movie. Often times when they would splurge on eating in a shoppe, they would share something. One time when they shared "the best pasty ever made" , a seagull swooped in and stole it from Raynor. They were often hungry, hot, cold, smelly and wet. Finding a safe place to pitch the tent for the night was always a challenge. Any rare but necessary diversions into a city were a problem with extra and often surly people around, and less available options for safely pitching a tent. They would breathe a sigh of relief slipping back into the countryside. Many times people they encountered would approach, becoming intrigued upon seeing "older people" such as the Winns with large rucksacks, and wondering if they were walking the South West Coast Path. They would get personal and ask how the Winns had the time to do this. They soon found out if they were honest and said they were homeless, people would get a distrustful look in their eyes and quickly drift away.

Raynor talked about the skin peeling off her nose, the leathery consistency of her skin, and the eventual thin, muscular and toned transformation of their bodies. The first time she was able to enjoy the use of a communal hot shower, she spent a very long time in there, washing the bird's nest of her hair and having a good long cry. There were also several encounters with morning dog walkers as she squatted to perform her morning constitution! There are too many personal stories to recount during this pilgrimage that made this book uniquely special. The one part I did not enjoy was the intricately detailed account of nature every step of the way. Admittedly, I'm not a nature lover or outdoorsy person, but I just skimmed a bit over those parts. Raynor Winn is a very gifted writer, and she will sweep you away like one of the many rainstorms they dodged.

I'll leave you with what was for me the most beautiful moment of the story: Moth said, "When it does come, the end, I want you to have me cremated. Because I want you to keep me in a box somewhere, then when you die the kids can put you in, give us a shake and send us on our way. Together. It's bothered me more than anything else, the thought of us being apart. They can let us go on the coast, in the wind, and we'll find the horizon together."

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's no doubt that I wouldn't have survived this walk with Raynor Winn, choosing to throw myself off one of the many cliff pathways she describes, rather than have to endure her constant and repetitive moaning about the dice that life have rolled against her.
I've lost my home as a result of an ill-conceived business venture and I've had to walk around a supermarket, counting down my cash on the calculator until it ran out and we walked to the till.
I've lost my shirt in business twice. Both times I was the stupid one - and didn't blame anyone else or "the system".
I've picked myself up, started again and made a success of life.
I'm also genuinely sorry that your husband was not well - nobody deserves that - ever.
When I was down I didn't moan about rich people around me enjoying themselves, about the environment falling to bits, about the weather, about poorly designed camping gear, about being hungry, about what other people thought of me, about cities, about towns, about the countryside, about doctors, about, about, about.....gawd.
Rarely been happier to finish a book, having persevered to the end, waiting for an epiphany that never came.
I wish you both happiness and long life.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite non fiction book because it's about a mid age couple who tell a true story. It made me cry for them loosing everything that they had worked for all their lives. It also made me cry of how little money they had to buy something to eat on their journey walking to Cornwall. Raynor and Moth had lost their home and their business. The bailiffs came in and took everything that they owned. They have almost no money for food or shelter. With little money they did have they buy a tent and walk the salt path to Cornwall. Sometimes they have to choose to either eat or use a little money for a ferry. The one thing that went through my mind while reading this true story is how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and food to eat. With all my heart I definitely recommend reading The Salt Path, to every reader in the world.

[Dolors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes we need to be reminded how fortunate we are. How precious our lives are, with all the mundanity and the daily routine that lacks the excitement of the great adventures we imagined in our mind years ago, when youth blossomed and expectations raised above the horizon.
Instead, we have “this life”. Am I right? Sigh.
This is the kind of book, the kind of testimony that is perfect to appreciate what we have; our jobs, our roofs, the people we love and trust next to us day after day, the security and comfort of a home, even if that is not a physical space.
This is the kind of book that makes you feel grateful and at the same time shows you another way to deal with adversity and to beat one’s demons.

Moth and Ray, the protagonists of this half memoir, half travelogue, had what most of us have; a home, an occupation, children and a future where they envisioned growing old together in the farm they built with their own hands. Until fate decides for them and sends them swirling into the wilderness without a house, without funds and worst of all, with the sentence of a terminal illness hovering over Moth’s head.

What they do is extraordinary and courageous. Some might say it’s reckless, or even insane. Instead of trying to find refuge in the social system or become a burden to their friends or family, they leap off the trodden path and set on a journey of 630 miles following the South West Coastal Path, from Minehead on the Somerset coast right round Devon and Cornwall to Poole in Dorset, with only thirty pounds in their pockets, two rucksacks and Paddy Dillon’s guidebook.
They don’t know what they’ll do after they stop walking, but the strenuous exercise and the briny smell of the natural wilderness become their home, and that allows them to go on despite the severity of their problems.
Homelessness, hunger and uncertainty take on the main stage, and nature remains the constant at backdrop of the story which makes them bearable.

Freedom is to be found within us and wealth can’t be measured in possessions or power. Illness, even death, can be looked in the eye if one is at peace with himself, feeling part of a bigger whole, accepting life as it comes, in whatever shape it acquires.
Moth and Ray defied their worst fears and emerged victorious, relearning to love, relearning to breathe in the salty breeze and to radiate with scorched skin and frizzy hair, flourishing in the present, regardless of what might happen when that moment would be gone.
Can life become more beautiful than that?

“Skin on longed-for skin, life could wait, time could wait, death could wait. This second in the millions of seconds was the only one, the only one that we could live in. I was home, there was nothing left to search for, he was my home.”

[Wendy Armstrong · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here is a taste of how Winn describes the Salt Path; I'll let it speak for itself:

"Blue - green - blue - green. Or for variation green - blue - green - blue - blue - blue - green - green - blue. It came and went in waves of up and down, up, up, down, down, down, steeply up, really steeply up, really very steeply up. Down, down, green, blue, green, up. Tent up, noodles, sleep, noodles, tent down, squat in the bracken, walk. Green, blue, up, green, down.".

The one-star review is mostly down to Winn's unbelievably irritating narration. She's able to make the most mundane scene feel completely inauthentic. The encounters in this book ring so false that I'm surprised so few people have mentioned it. Absolutely everyone they meet calls this couple old to their faces, mostly rudely, as in: "You've walked all that way and you're so old! Old people, just walking and sleeping in a tent". Really? People recoil in theatrical horror when they hear that the couple are homeless. She drops some coins and a snooty woman practically attacks her. There is an unconvincing story thread that involves people mistaking 'Moth' for Simon Armitage, with lots of unfunny nudge-nudge/wink-wink dialogue - this just suddenly fizzles out to nothing. Every single encounter has the same 'voice', with some cringeworthy attempts at different accents thrown in here and there.

Winn glosses over why she and her husband became homeless in a similarly inauthentic-sounding early chapter that comes across as obfuscatory and shifty. I was also annoyed that she had the time and the means to transport all her beloved belongings to a friend's barn but couldn't rustle up a sunhat or some Poundland sun cream for the walk - ffs! See also: deodorant, a flannel, blister plasters. I couldn't stomach one more scene describing how ripe she smelled. Moth has no personality at all, thanks to Winn's inability to flesh out his character. He calls everyone 'mate' and gives all their food away, which I feel Winn silently fumes about. There are passages where she describes his illness, and the prospect of losing him, which should be heartbreaking but left me unmoved.

Everything could be 100% true in this book - she obviously kept a detailed journal with a view to publishing something - but she simply can't write authentic-sounding encounters, and it feels like she took a single instance and just repeated it several times to create anecdotes. Even her homelessness facts ring hollow and just feel like filler. I'm irritated that I couldn't empathise or engage with this memoir because I normally love this genre. I'm not going to trump it up because of the tragic subject matter - I just couldn't get past the emotional barrier of Winn's writing style. The thought of reading the follow-up makes me gag.

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Brief edit to say- look how that turned out? Seems we were right to find this story a bit off - it's all built on lies.


i'm really interested in long walks/hikes as a way to get through stuff - like Wild or Tristimania, I love to hear about the soul searching and how these amazing journeys can be healing. I didn't find any of that here. I didn't feel like we got a sense of place at all and barely any descriptions of the landscape, and the dialogue was unconvincing.

I had many issues with this book, but my main one is how judgemental Raynor is, and how her prejudices are presented as fact or what the average person thinks. she writes extremely badly about other people that are experiencing homelessness. I also had issue with how she talks about Wales, how she says that everyone calls them old, how she presents herself as a victim, how she claims people recoil when they hear they are homeless and how she talks about illness and the whole thing about Simon Armitage.

obviously I want them to be well and safe, but this whole memoir was very much written from a place of middle-class privilege.

Finally - the food. stop eating fudge, chips and noodles!!! Get some protein and some greens FFS!!

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times there was only the walk...
Just the walk...
The path was 630 miles....

There are true stories stories....
There are adventure stories...
There are inspiring stories...
There are stories about nature....
There are stories about homelessness...
There are stories about walking...
There are stories about camping and camping equipment...
There are stories about that backpacking...
There are stories about devastating challenges...
There are stories about terminal illnesses...
There are stories about couples, and families...
There are stories about choices...
There are stories we learn from...
There are stories that expand our perception...
There are stories that speak to be heard and understood...
There are stories about loss...
There are stories about love...
There are stories that take our breath away, have us feel joy, sadness, anger, guilt,
and gratefulness to be alive...

The Salt Path is all of the above!
Reading this book was an invaluable part of my own life reading journey.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a few pages into the book I googled the author. I had missed before that this is a non-fiction book, a kind of memoir. I thought it was a novel at first because Raynor Winn writes very novel-like.
The decisions she and her husband made after having lost nearly everything in their lives are so far beyond how I would react that it makes interesting reading on the one hand and annoying on the other. They run away from one set of problems to encounter another. The struggle is painful and I admire their perseverance. In my comfortable home I cannot begin to feel what they must have felt. I can see that this walk worked for them. By following the coastal path for nearly 600 miles they manage to face their demons and deal with them as best as they can. Hopefully they will have many years together ahead of them.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that I had expected to LOVE, but things didn't go as planned.

I first heard about The Salt Path when I read a positive review in a magazine, with the blurb quote: "Recommended for fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild." I loved the book Wild and have read it multiple times, so I jumped to request The Salt Path. However, I ended up feeling lukewarm about it.

Let's start with what I liked about SP, which is that it's a travelogue in England — one of my favorite genres set in one of my favorite countries. Early in the memoir we learn that Raynor and her husband, Moth, were dealt multiple tragedies. First, they lose their home in a lawsuit related to a scummy business friend, and then Moth is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Facing homelessness, they decide to turn the tragedy into an adventure and walk along the sea path on the southeast coast, camping along the way.

I usually enjoy hiking memoirs and have read a number of them, but there was little I enjoyed about the experience of reading SP. Instead, this book touched a nerve and made me incredibly anxious. If I hadn't been reading it for a book club I would have abandoned it — that's how distressing it was. Apparently I have a deep-seated fear of losing my home and all my money, because when I was reading this book I couldn't get past the anxiety over how poor they were. In one scene, Raynor accidentally drops some coins on the ground, and Raynor and Moth scramble to find them, because those few coins affect whether they will be able to eat. There are times in this book when they go hungry and only have food because a kind stranger takes pity on them.

Which brings me to the discussion about the stigma of being homeless. There are several good passages on this issue, and Raynor and Moth both experience a variety of responses from strangers when they learn about their situation. Sometimes they fib and say they "sold" their home, instead of saying they are currently homeless, to avoid being shunned.

Another interesting discussion relates to how Moth felt stronger when he was walking along the path, and the exercise seemed to invigorate him, despite his illness.

This book has become an international bestseller, which means my negative reaction to the story isn't the norm. Maybe you will end up loving their adventure, as I hoped I would.

[Jodi Rilot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This won't be a popular review. I expected to love The Salt Path. It's an epic tale of a journey undertaken in desperation, with the dramatic coastline of the South West Coast path as a backdrop. I was particularly looking forward to reading it whilst on holiday in Woolacombe. I was expecting to be inspired by the homeless couple in their 50s setting out to conquer the 620+ mile route.

And yet I found myself strangely unmoved. Unmoved by the tragic circumstances that led to their journey, unmoved by the trials and tribulations of the trail and unmoved by the glorious setting. Peculiar.

I have every sympathy for their plight, and for that of the homeless generally (yes, even the "drink and drug addicts" that the author so clearly looks down on), yet this story left me cold. I found myself skim reading repetitious pages and rolling my eyes at the pathos Raynor Winn demands. I did not need her to signpost me to feel sorry for her - the situation was heartbreaking enough of itself. There was something jarring in the way that Winn lays on their victim status with a trowel.

I never felt true connection with her and Moth, despite wanting to do so. Her blanket condemnation of any commercialisation, even when it brings much needed jobs, is naive. The characters they meet along the way do not ring true. The relationship with her husband Moth is largely unexplored. Their children seem to never be contacted by them, nor is their response to their parents' extreme decision to roam homless examined.. Surely they must have been out of their minds with worry.

For me, this novel needed a lighter touch or stronger editing. But many have loved it and raved about it. It's a best seller. There are some beautifully written passages. Raynor Winn can clearly write. This book just didn't touch me in the way I'd hoped.

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. This one is well worth the hype.

[Semjon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ein ganz fürchterliches Buch in meinen Augen, welches ich gegen meine sonstige Gewohnheit tatsächlich bis zum Ende gelesen habe, obwohl mir schon nach den ersten Seiten die Erzählerin extrem unsympathisch und ihr Schreibstil zu einfach und wiederholend war. Ich habe es beendet, weil ich wissen wollte, warum so viele Menschen von diesem Reisebericht begeistert sind und sich sogar inspiriert fühlen. Dabei stellt Raynor Winn sich als zutiefst narzisstisch und permanent (zumeist negativ) bewertend dar.

Ich frage mich, warum es so interessant ist, die Reiseberichte von Menschen zu lesen, die mit Trekking so gar nichts am Hut hatten in ihrem früheren Leben. Es scheint faszinierend zu sein, wie Ungeübte durch ihren Leistungswillen quasi als Katharsis den Lebensfrust von der Seele laufen und geläutert oder sogar spirituell erleuchtet in ihr altes Leben zurückkehren. Das ist z.B. bei Hape Kerkeling auf dem Camino oder Cheryl Strayed auf dem PCT auch so. Doch bei Raynor Winn sucht man vergeblich nach solchen tiefgreifenden Reflexionen. Sie und ihr Ehemann haben ihr Haus und Hof aufgrund einer dubiosen Finanztransaktion verloren, für die sie ihr Heim als Sicherheit stellten. Statt sich professionell verteidigend zu lassen, nehmen sie dies selbst in der Hand und scheitern kolossal. Dazu kommt eine angeblich unheilbare Krankheitsdiagnose bei Winns Ehemann hinzu. Doch statt ihr Leben neu zu ordnen, auf eine Sozialwohnung zu warten (auf die sie übrigens in England acht Wochen nach der Meldung ihrer Obdachlosigkeit Anspruch gehabt hätten), wollen sie das Gefühl der Freiheit genießen und geben sich auf eine Weitwanderung im Südwesten des Landes.

Ich wurde nie das Gefühl los, dass sie dabei sich in der Rolle der Obdachlosen irgendwie auch wohl fühlen. In den folgenden Schilderungen geht es weniger um den Bericht der landschaftlichen Schönheit Devons und Cornwalls oder den inspirierenden Begegnungen mit den Menschen auf dem Trail oder den Einheimischen. Vielmehr geht es darum, die Schmerzen und Entbehrungen durch Hunger, Durst, Kälte und der Krankheit des Manns breit zu treten. Als ausgebildeter Familienwanderleiter habe ich da wenig Respekt vor, wenn man sich so blauäugig in ein Abenteuer stürzt. Wenn sich die Autorin dann auch noch leicht überheblich über die sportlichen und gut planenden Mitwanderer auf dem Trail lustig macht, hat sie nicht meine Sympathie. Außerdem halte ich es für Humbug, bei einer Weitwanderung im Südwesten Englands oft über die Wassernot zu erzählen. Da gibt es genug Wege günstig an Wasser zu kommen. Den Hunger kann ich da schon eher verstehen, aber statt mit den paar Pfund, die sie pro Woche haben, mal ein gesundes Essen für den kranken Mann und die hungernde Frau zu erstehen, liest man ständig von gekauften Fudge- und Schokoriegel und nie von Brot, Obst und Gemüse. Zudem scheint Raynor Will einen moralischen Freibrief für sich zu beanspruchen, Waren und Dienstleistungen auf dem Weg zu stehlen, ob es nun Lebensmittel oder Schwarzübernachtungen auf Campingplätzen sind. Erstaunlich, dass das von der breiten Leserschaft dieses Buchs völlig unkritisch gesehen wird. Dabei steht auf der Selbstmitleid-Flagge, die die Autorin ständig wedelt: „Schaut, wie arm und wie weit unten wir angekommen sind“

Dann wird auch noch über alles gelästert, was einwenig nach professioneller Organisation und Wohlstand riecht. Vom National Trust bis zu lokalen Arbeitgeber, von strengen Teehausbesitzern bis zu Gründern von kulturellen Einrichtungen. Als sie der Erbauerin des Minack Theaters in den Klippen Cornwalls, Rowena Cade, quasi als Ausbeuterin der Angestellten Gärtner darstellte, flog das Buch beinahe in die Ecke. Das Amphitheater, welches diese bewundernswerte kleine Frau in Jahrzehnten mit ihrem Gärtner dort erstellt hat, ist nämlich höchst erstaunlich und dabei war sie sich auch keiner körperlichen Arbeit zu schade. So meine Erinnerung an diese Einrichtung bei einem England-Urlaub.

Ich befürchte, dass das Buch gezielt für einen bestimmten Markt so konzipiert wurde. Der Schreibstil zwischen den Landschafts- und Sehenswürdigkeitenbeschreibungen im Wikipedia-Stil und dem Rest ist auch sehr unterschiedlich in der Qualität. Ich freue mich für die Autorin, dass sie mit dem Buch einen Weg aus der Armut gefunden haben. Selbstverständlich gibt es auch noch eine Fortsetzung von diesem von einer Kaffeehauskette prämierten Buchs. Ich kann es aber nicht weiterempfehlen.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple are sued in respect of an investment debt and lose their home and their livelihood. Having been made homeless and simultaneously finding out that Moth has a terminal illness, they decide to walk the 630 mile south west coastal path, rough camping (illegal in England) along the way and living (barely) on an income of less than £50 per week.

This much lauded book was shortlisted for both the Costa and Wainwright prizes and is described everywhere as ‘uplifting’. My experience was different. The couple certainly found themselves in an awful situation but embarking on a long distance path with someone who is physically challenged seems to me an extreme response. I found I couldn’t identify with their eco warrior, ex Greenham Common protesting background at all and found many of their decisions, whether on how to spend their meagre income or where to spend the night, and their complete lack of planning and naivety about the journey ahead, quite irresponsible and frankly downright annoying.

I enjoy following other people’s walks and that is the main reason this appealed to me and probably why it was recommended to me but I found it unbelievably repetitive to the point of tedium. Camp somewhere daft (most of the time), get up, eat very little or nothing, walk, be surprised at how steep the terrain is (duh! you have a guidebook!), run out of water, eat a fudge bar or bag of chips, feel dirty (because you are), be treated suspiciously because you’re homeless, find somewhere to camp, eat pot noodles, sleep, get up.......... Yes, it’s amusing that so many people think you’re Simon Armitage but that becomes repetitive too. The only reason I’m giving it 3 stars is because it raises serious issues about our attitudes towards homelessness in the UK but that is yet another repetitive theme so I’m being generous. It’s just not for me.

7/7/25 - as someone has commented elsewhere, Moth is a perfect name for this man as it transpires that their story is full of holes! It’s disappointing that this couple managed to pull the wool over so many eyes but it’s also surprising that it’s taken so long for the truth to be made public.

[Carolyn Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a moving and important book, and I’m so glad Raynor Winn has shared her (and her husband’s) story with the world.

Hearing about what they went through, as a couple and as individuals, was incredibly eye opening. She made me think about homelessness in a way I never had before. She explored how society perceives the homeless and how disheartening and unjustified that treatment usually is.

As a lover of walking, I adored how she described their walks and how transformative they were. Reading this book, it almost felt as if I was walking with them, which is a true sign of brilliant storytelling.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise is straightforward. Raynor Winn and her husband Moth are in the early 50s. A poor finance decision has put their home in Wales at risk: it’s a small farm/smallholding and they have been there for about twenty years. They lose a court case and lose their home and it’s all pretty brutal with bailiffs and all. Two days later Moth is diagnosed with a terminal degenerative illness, Corticobasal degeneration:
“..a rare degenerative brain disease that would take the beautiful man I’d loved since I was a teenager and destroy his body and then his mind as he fell into confusion and dementia, and end with him unable to swallow and probably choking to death on his own saliva. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing they could do about it.”
What to do? Especially as they have very little money and although they can rely on friends for a week or two it isn’t a long term solution. They decide to spend their last money on some basic camping equipment and to walk the coastal path between Minehead and Poole. A total of 630 miles around the coast of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. The book recounts their journeys and how they managed with only £48 per week.
One interesting issue raised by this account relates to homelessness. Urban homelessness is obvious and clear to see. Rural homelessness is different and not so obvious and often does involves backpackers with their lives on their backs. Seasonal work often means people do not have the means to keep a roof over their heads. Winn describes coming across all sorts of people who were homeless, often overlooked by society:
“They were hidden away, communities living together in the woods going out to work every day. They lived in horse-boxes, sheds, all sorts of ways that people find to live if they don’t have a house.”
Winn also makes some very important points about perception and attitude about homelessness:
“When people asked how we had so much time to walk so far, we’d explain we lost our home. They’d almost physically recoil — that reaction came as a shock. We learned how to deal with it — to say we’d sold our house, we were having a mid-life moment, going where the wind took us. And they’d say: ‘Oh Wow! That’s inspirational’. There’s a huge difference between how people perceive selling and losing one’s home.”
The beginning of the book is traumatic as Winn and Moth lose everything and losing a home is always more than just bricks and mortar:
“Every stone we had carefully placed, the tree where the children played, the hole in the wall where the blue tits nested, the loose piece of lead by the chimney where the bats lived,”
She doesn’t minimize the difficulties they faced:
“The very beginning was especially difficult, not just because Moth was finding it so physically hard, even getting out of the tent in the morning and putting his boots on — but because of the transition from the normal life we’d led a few weeks earlier to now finding ourselves homeless on the cliffs.”
One of the surprises was Moth’s physical state. The doctor’s had said it would be a downhill path, but over the walk he gradually improved and became stronger. The illness remained, but the trajectory was different.
As you might expect there is a bit of travelogue and a good deal about food or lack of it. A diet of fudge and noodles isn’t to be recommended. Some of the travelogue bits are rather basic and feel like they’ve been taken out of guides. There is also a danger of being a little preachy. This clearly worked for Winn and Moth, but there is no guarantee that this could be a universal panacea. It is however inspiring and very moving at times and Winn makes some very pertinent points about homelessness.

[Laysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the past week, I vicariously hiked the South West Coast Path. I camped wild, lived with hunger, and was battered by sun, wind, rain, and cold. For me, it was simply a fictional adventure. However, for Raynor and Moth Winn, this was their life for two summers. It was real. It was painful. It was life affirming.

A memoir has a power unparalleled when compared to fiction. A well written memoir like The Salt Path offers an honest look at what it means to be homeless and penniless. Ray and Moth, a Welsh couple in their early fifties, lost their farmhouse, which was their home and source of income, to a poor financial investment in a friend’s company with no recourse to proper legal services. Life was bleak for Ray and Moth. In their words, we have "Lost the case, lost the house and lost ourselves."

At their lowest point, Moth was diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease that can cause worsening problems with movement, speech, memory, and swallowing. Winn reflected, “As the lights of our life were going out, a doctor sat on the corner of his table and switched off the lamp.” Their grief was raw and visceral. I felt their despair and fear.

In August 2013, Ray and Winn decided to walk all 630 miles (1,014 km) of the South West Coast Path. They set off from Minehead in Somerset with only 115 pounds and a bank card that promised 48 pounds a month in tax credit. A Paddy Dillion guidebook; heavy backpack; light-weight tents; no sunscreen; no hat for Ray. What an impossible journey especially when Moth was in so much pain! I could not help thinking a few times what a careless couple they were. I also wondered, as did Moth, whether this was a masochistic way of coping with homelessness. While my mind fought their decision, my heart wanted them to succeed in this extremely daunting trek.

The windswept and wild English coastline was beautifully documented. I can see how despite the physical strain and hardship, living in the embrace of natural wonder can be uplifting and even restorative. Ray and Moth camped wild in a different place every night on the South West Coast Path. I worried for them when they ran out of food and water, when their purse started to empty, when they could not find a safe place to camp for the night, and when Moth became so ill he was unable to walk. In some ways, this memoir reminded me of Cheryl Strayed’s book, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. However, Cheryl was not homeless or penniless. This is utter destitution, and I wept with Ray when she took her first hot bath at a campsite.

Ray and Moth gained personal insight into what it means to be homeless. Hikers and backpackers often asked why they were walking. The couple learned how folks reacted with revulsion and quickly moved away when they admitted they had lost their home. However, when they lied and said they had sold their home and were taking it easy, they were hailed as being inspirational. It is sobering to remember that not all homeless people are drug addicts or reckless wastrels.

What shone in this memoir is the love this couple have for each other. It is beautiful and most enviable. It embraced poverty, sickness, hardship, and uncertainty. Love is their true home.

Even though it was harrowing walking the South West Coast Path with them, part of me did not wish it to end much as I wanted their suffering to be over. I was happy for them that they found themselves and renewed courage for the future. Like them, I was wistful when their walk was over, that there would be no more camping in the wild, no more communion with nature. I will miss the countless cups of tea and pasties I had shared with them.

Read The Salt Path. It is a beautifully written and inspiring memoir about the incredible human reserve of strength and fortitude and the sure redemptive power of nature.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not normally a fan of the memoir in general, but this one was pretty good. It had a lot of interest for me in its setting as I spent many childhood holidays in Cornwall and Devon and have family in Poole. So everywhere Ray and Moth went I could visualise the sights and sounds and the beautiful scenery.

When I read memoirs I often wonder how the other people in the book feel about having their problems and their lives exposed to the rest of the world - or to the ones who read the book anyway. I felt for Moth so much that I did a quick internet search and made sure that he is still alive and actually doing well despite his awful diagnosis. It appears too that Raynor is a much feted author in the UK as a result of this book.

Anyway it told of a brave (or foolish) couple who set out to walk 630 miles of the British coastline with a small tent and hardly any cash reserves. They were much, much tougher than I could ever imagine and truly deserved to be successful. An interesting and nicely written tale, well worth reading.

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful beautiful beautiful.

I saw the trailer for this at the cinema when I watched Small Things Like These and I was hooked. Placing my hold at the library, and devouring it within days. It was a beautiful book.

Not only did the author set out to do something fiercely challenging and spontaneous, she wrote it with grace and an unexpected quality (I don’t know what I was expecting..but I was blown away). Raynor also narrated this beautifully, seamlessly, I felt I was there in the wind, the sun, and everything in between. She has a unique voice to listen to, and to tell her story.

This strong duo, an endlessly loving and supportive couple faced a tremendous financial loss of their home, the place where their family was born and nurtured, along with their livelihood, their flocks, their animals. Having lost all this through a friend, and the hardship that ensued, I never felt a horrible tone of regret or anger, feelings which I am sure I’d struggle with. They were my age, and nothing was going to stop them.

Raynor tells the journey of her husband’s terminal diagnosis days after losing their home, becoming instantly homeless and trekking a 630 mile coastal path. This loss is contrasted with a joyous spirit of love and a courageous battle to live in the wild, and to simply put one foot in front of the other. Remarkable.

I don’t want to Google to see any further news as this was first published in 2018, I’m basking in their amazing story for now.

I listened to this via the Libby app and my public library. I didn't want it to end.

[Fatma Al Zahraa Yehia · Rating 3 out of 5]

رحلة طويلة ومؤثرة استمتعت بها في المجمل. وأستطيع القول بأنني استأنست بالزوجة والزوج وبطريقهم الطويل المُضني.

كان الكتاب تجربة مُبصرة لي لحقيقة من يعيش مشرداً بالشوارع. اكتسب تعاطفي مع تلك الفئة بعداً جديداً بعد قراءة هذا الكتاب، وجعلني أنظر بشكل مختلف لمدى مأساوية وضع من يعيش بلا سقف يحميه.

رأيت من خلال هذا الكتاب كم أن الزمن قاسٍ على الخائبين في الحساب وقوانين الضرائب والتأمينات. وأن العمل الشاق المضني ليس كافياً لحمايتك من تغول قوانين صماء لا تترد في إلقاء من يجهلها في الشارع.

سنلمس في هذا الكتاب مدى جهل الطب بالإنسان، ذلك الكائن الذي لن يستطيع العلم مهما وصل إليه من تقدُم أن يعطيه تاريخ صحيح لانتهاء صلاحيته للحياة. أخبر الأطباء الزوج هنا بأن حياته تنتهي وأنه لا يصلح سوى للمكوث في فراشه لانتظار التدهور التدريجي لوظائف جسده. أثبت "موث" الزوج بأن الأطباء لا يُعول على صدق تنبواءتهم الطبية دائما. وأن السنة الشاقة التي قضاها مع زوجته مرتحلا في البرية في ظروف شديدة القسوة، أعطت لجسده قوة جديدة ومنحته فرصة أطول للعيش.

لا أنكر أني صادفتني لحظات ملل خلال قراءة الكتاب، فهناك تفاصيل شديدة الاسهاب والتكرار كان من الممكن تخطيها او اختصارها، ولكن كان بداخلي فضول لاستكمال الرحلة الى نهايتها مع تلك الزوجان والاستمتاع بلحظات خاطفة من الأمل في الحياة قد منحتها لي راوية تلك الحكاية.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an eccentric, amusing and incredibly stoic couple called Raynor and Moth, who are made homeless in their 50s. At the same time the husband (Moth) is diagnosed with a terminal brain disease. Amazingly, they respond to these crises by deciding to walk the south west coastal path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.....and do so with an impossibly small amount of money to live on.

The book is written by Raynor, the wife, and she is an marvellous writer. It brings alive the people and scenes they encounter on their heroic walk. For me there was a wonderful hidden message too. As you read the book, they are practically penniless. They sometimes stop at cafes to share a a single cup of tea, or a sausage sandwich. They often don't have even the odd extra pound to buy two cups of tea to drink together...and all this time, we the readers know that unexpected success and financial security lie round the corner. The book that sits in our hands is going to be their passport to freedom. Of course Moth still has his illness, but I checked, and now, several years later, he is still alive. They are such an amazing couple, with a huge bedrock of love for one another, and an overflow of kindness and generosity towards the world. It was a marvellous and inspiring read.

I'm not going to go into further detail, there are already so many excellent reviews of the book here on Goodreads, which are well worth checking out. Suffice it to say that if you decide to read it you are in for a real treat.

[K.J. Charles]

I feel I am too cynical, or not open hearted enough, or possibly too habituated to saying "There seems to be a plot hole here" or indeed "Well that's wildly implausible". So yeah, didn't work for me.

[Spurnlad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. Too much self-pity for my liking. A great idea and a good choice for the situation, but i just couldn't identify with the people.

Also drawing their benefits on the way round didn't seem appropriate.

2025: Looks like I was right. The man wasn't even really ill and they had a house in France,

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

When this book first caught my eye I picked it up and but it down again, because I thought that the story it had to tell might pull me down at a time when I needed to be lifted up; but a warm recommendation and the news that the author would be appearing at my local literary festival sent me back to the bookshop to buy a copy.

It was a wonderful investment!

A story of people who had more than their fair share of trial, but who fought back by realising what was important in life and living their lives accordingly!

Raynor Winn’s husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness; the couple lost a court case and incurred massive debts that would swallow up everything they owned, because the evidence that they were not liable arrived to late to be admissible in court; and that was why baliffs were hammering on the door to complete the process of taking their farm and livelihood away.

They hid under the stairs, because they didn’t know what else they could do.

‘I was under the stairs when I decided to walk. In that moment, I hadn’t carefully considered walking 630 miles with a rucksack on my back, I hadn’t thought about how I could afford to do it, or that I’d be wild camping for nearly one hundred nights, or what I’d do afterwards. I hadn’t told my partner of thirty-two years that he was coming with me.’

It was mad but it was the only thing they could do to stop being dragged down by the ruin of their past lives, to not undermine friendships by having to accept help and be grateful, and to avoid being a burden and a worry to their two grown-up children.

The idea was sparked by the book ‘500 Mile Walkies’ by Mark Wallington. I haven’t read it but the Man of the House has and he loved it.

Their only income would be £48 per week, they were homeless anyway, so why not walk the south-west coast path?!

The couple harboured their meagre resources to buy a new lightweight tent, a couple of sleeping bags and new rucksacks; and to get themselves to their starting point – Minehead in Somerset.

The walking was gruelling – especially for Moth, who had been advised that the best thing he could do for his condition (corticobasal degeneration or CBD) was to take life slowly and steadily – but as long as they kept moving the couple could forget that they were homeless and be happy that they were doing something together.

They had no money for official campsites, so wild camping was the order of the day, and it wasn’t easy to find a suitable spot each night, or to get up, pack up and be out of the way before anyone could object to them being there in the morning. Their limited budget meant that their usual diet was noodles, tins of tuna, and sweets. It was tough – particularly when they saw visitors using amenities and eating pasties and ice creams – but they endured and they became healthier.

The walk would not be a miracle sure for Moth, but it slowy became clear that it was having a positive effect in his health.

‘The path had given us certainty, a sense of security that came with knowing that tomorrow and the next day and the next we would pack up the tent, put one foot in front of the other and walk.’

Along the way he and his wife saw the best and the worst of human nature. Many people when they heard that they were homeless, or when they saw that they looked shabby and were eating the most basic rations, shunned them, called them names and made unwarranted assumptions. But others were supportive and encouraging, offering food and drink, and offering sensible and useful advice.

All of that gave the author a very real concern for the plight of the homeless.

She wrote beautifully about her emotions, her experiences, and about the path that she and her husband for walking. Sometimes when I read books about the south-west I’m looking out for the places close to home that I know well but that didn’t happen with this book, because I was so caught up in the moment. Reading was rather like hearing an account from a friend who is open and honest, who has a wonderful way with words, and who knows exactly what details to tell, which anecdotes to share to make a good story.

When I heard her speak her voice was exactly as it had been in her book.

There is much that I could share, but I’m just going to say that you should read the book and find out those things that way.

There are highs and low, there are moments to make you smile and moments to make you sigh, in this wonderful true story of homelessness, love and endurance.

[Tascha / alllora · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high expectations for The Salt Path but I don't think I've ever wanted a book to end more than whilst I was reading this. It was just 288 pages of moaning, blaming and not so subetly shaming others for living a "traditional" life.

I understand the concept; highlighting the misconceptions and stereotypes of homeless people in the UK, but I personally disliked the almost grotesque way this was done. There was absolutely no nuance and I often felt like I was being preached to. Fellow hikers that Raynor and Moth met along the path were always looked down on and shamed because they had a bed to sleep in or because they were simply there for a holiday and not because they had nowhere else to go.

The whole book just felt very self piteous; the world is to blame for all of their issues, big and small.

Moth also didn't feel like a real person to me, Raynor rarely mentioned him and he never seemed to say anything. The only time he was brought up was when we needed to be reminded that he was ill and we must feel sorry for them and their situation.

I just didn't feel like I gained anything from this book, it was a torturous read that left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another 2 star review. I purchased this book when I was in Cornwall and it was nice-ish to read about the places I had visited with a kind of "oh yeah, I remember that" nostalgia. I found Raynor and Moth really unlikeable. I'm sorry, I know they are real people and I am giving an opinion on their traumatic life events. It all felt a little bit too much like middle class homelessness to me. The thought of being on a waiting list for a council house among the undesirable was too much to contemplate for the couple. With under £50 a month to live on, the first thing they did was spend £16 on a CREAM TEA and some chips for a "scrap of comfort"....???? Their attitude to everyone they came across on the journey was a weird combination of self-loathing and superciliousness. Very aloof. There was a lot of patronising and bitter thoughts thrown towards anyone younger than themselves. The book is doing its best to sell itself morally as a 'homelessness can happen to anyone' and 'not all homeless people are drunk and on drugs' tribute but I'm not sure it is doing any favours in representing these people.